Sawtooth in the News

This morning I headed out bright and early to do a Surface Design segment on Fox8 News as part of their feature story on Sawtooth School for Visual Art. It was so much fun!!



I'm glad I couldn't hear what the anchors were saying, because I would have busted out laughing at the prospect of printing someone's face this way!  :)

The Surface Design class is just one of many that I teach there; there is also Soy Wax Resist, Shibori Dyeing, and Silk Scarf Taste of Art classes. Dates and times are in my side bar and also online at Sawtooth. Enrollment for winter classes is going on now, so I hope you'll call them and sign up soon! Sawtooth School 336-723-7395

Catching Up

Things have just been hopping around here lately! What have I been up to? Let's see...

I've been teaching...

 

Altered Surfaces - rust dyeing, stamping, discharging, and gelatin plate printing

(Here Deb and Lynn show off their awesome creations!)


Silk Scarf Dyeing...

I've been making clay buttons...

which have now been glazed and fired and I need to go pick up :)







I've done 2 festivals...

One the weekend of the hurricane and one the weekend it turned cold and rained! LOL! Yes, outdoor festivals are a hit or miss kind of thing. I can't say that it's been a highly successful adventure yet, but it's been on my list of things to try and I want to do a few more before I make a final judgement on their feasibility as part of my studio business. I don't like the unpredictability of the weather...


After all, gallery exhibits are climate controlled! I've had two openings in recent weeks...

"Courage"               
This is a traveling exhibit curated by my friend Kathy Brusnighan (seen left). A gift to the community, these inspiring and encouraging pieces debuted at Circa Gallery in Asheboro, NC on Sept. 15 and will be exhibited in hospitals and galleries throughout central NC through the end of 2012 where the exhibit will conclude at the Center for Creative Leadership. For more information on the exhibit and a schedule of locations visit Art With Purpose.

We all had a great time at the reception! Thanks Circa Gallery for hosting us!

 

(my piece is in the lower right..."Consider the Lillies (Even When the Sky is Falling)" hand dyed fabric collaged to canvas with dimensional flowers)







"Faces"

 
 Another fun reception! This show is at Sawtooth in the Davis Gallery and will run through November 17.





My pieces from L to R:
"Rest" and "Relaxation" (stacked)
"Sam"  (daughter of a longtime friend)
"Faith", "Kay Oss", and "Clara T." (whimsical)
"How Do You See Me?"  (interactive, changeable piece)
 

I've been hard at work on a memorial commission piece...but I can't show it yet...


The boys and I enjoyed an evening at the Dixie Classic Fair. My favorite part...the fancy chickens!

And of course, there have been lots of soccer games...

And baseball games, including a FUN! trip to Myrtle Beach for a tournament at The Ripken Experience!



Well, that's it in a nutshell!
(Did I mention I love coffee?)

:)

You're Invited

FACES
An exhibition of Portraiture
September 22-November 17, 2011
Davis Gallery at Sawtooth School for Visual Art

Featuring work by;
Jeffrey Cates
Steve Childs
Karen Fridy
Betti Pettinati-Longinotti
Tom Ogburn
Mark Spangenberg
Mary Bailey Thomas

Artists’ Reception; Friday, October 7 from 5-7pm.
Gallery Hours: Mon - Fri 10-7, Sat 10-2
336-723-7395 http://www.sawtooth.org/

Back to It...The Rush is ON!

I can't believe June is almost here! It's going to be a busy month...I hit the ground running June 1 with the installation of the Cosmic Cow Society group exhibit at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center , opening reception June 3, 5-7:30 PM. Also opening June 3 is the faculty exhibit at Sawtooth from 5-7PM. Pass the clone please! :)

From there it's full steam ahead with shipping work to Sacred Threads and then making final preparations for teaching Summer Art Honors at Sawtooth and 3 kids/teen camps at Sew Original. I can't wait!! I love being around all those creative young minds! I may be the teacher, but I always learn from them as well. Be on the watch for lots of photo postings!

Throw in there some Elementary School graduation celebrations (how did my baby grow up so fast?!?), and other end-of-school-year festivities, and before I know it, it will be July!

Bring it!! It's going to be a fun summer!!

(image from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net )

Up and Running

Having enjoyed my little 'vacation' (NOT!) I'm happy to report that I'm back up and running! And just in time for a busy weekend...

It was part 2 of my Surface Design class at Sawtooth. Last week students learned rust dyeing and stamp making; this week they learned discharging and my favorite, gelatin plate printing! Two things I love about teaching: I get to share what I know AND I get to learn from seeing what others do with the techniques. They always amaze me! Here are a few shots from the day's fun...

Discharging...

 









Look how cool!

Discharged pieces processing...

Sandra and April creating

Lots of fun as usual!

And what better way to spend the rest of the weekend, but to fill it with baseball! Saturday night we went to the Wake Forest game and Sunday afternoon the oldest had a middle school scrimmage tournament. Yes, it's still February, but you'd never know it by the temperatures lately. It was a gorgeous day!

 
     


The season is off to a great start!

Yes, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad to be back at it again. I hate being sick...I'm a most impatient patient! When I was leaving class Saturday I looked up and saw this...there was peace over the city. Who could ask for more? :)



Getting Behind Myself

Whee!!!!

I've spent the week as a "single mom", as DH has been in Minneapolis on business. It's been a real juggling act with overlapping sports events for the eldest, basketball practice for the youngest, and playing nurse to the eldest who succumbed to another sinus infection paired with some mutant virus (thankfully NOT flu!) and has been out of school for the last three days. Needless to say, not much else has been accomplished this week, but we have enjoyed some priceless quality time together. I'm looking forward to that incoming flight tonight and hearing all about the adventure out west, and hopefully returning to a somewhat normal routine next week.

Tomorrow and next Saturday I'll be teaching Surface Design at Sawtooth which will be loads of fun, and Sunday will be the monthly meeting of the Cosmic Cow Society. Tuesday I'll be heading to my Beecassos meeting to pick up the pieces for our upcoming exhibit Beecassos unzipped at Chelsee's which will be showing during the month of March, and I'll also be visiting the Clemmons Guild to talk about Creature Comforts. As soon as I catch up with myself I'll be posting an update on Creature Comforts with some pictures from our initial sew day meeting. I'm very excited with the response to that program I've been getting from my local quilting friends!

So....Stay tuned! Meanwhile, I'm going to go outside and soak up some of this 72* weather!

Let the Festivities Begin!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...and with it comes a blizzard of activity! Since my last post I have had LOTS going on...

First, an exhibit opening with the Cosmic Cow Society at the Gallery of the Arts Underground Theatre in downtown Winston-Salem. What a great evening it was! Not your typical art opening...we had a band - West Trinity - play music sets (not just background music), had a "Small Talks" session where each participating artist had 28 seconds to discuss projected images of each of their featured works, and we had door prizes too. It was a fun event! This exhibit runs through the end of December...stop by and enjoy some wine or coffee and of course, the ART!

Then came a rush to finish up and deliver items for Sawtooth's annual Deck the Halls gallery showcase. I had to laugh..the lady checking in my inventory asked me if my sewing machine ever catches on fire! I'm a little surprised it didn't....I had over seven pages of inventory! The sale runs through the end of December and there is something there for everyone....pottery, fiber, jewelry, paintings, ornaments, you name it. All made by local artists and very affordable!

Here are just a few of my things...



5 x 5 Minis

Wool geode, fabric and glass beads

 necklace

   

              16 x 20   "Rest" and "Relaxation"

                               

(details)

These pieces are painted and distressed Tyvek, paper clay faces, glass beads, and hand stitched silk mounted to painted canvases. The overall pictures are the best color...my camera evidently wasn't in the mood for detail color!

Then of course there was the yumminess of Thanksgiving to celebrate...I roasted a turkey, made sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole and my mom's famous rye biscuits, along with chocolate ribbon pie and pumpkin pie (OK, I bought that one ready made)...DH made his famous boiled custard, which for you non-Southerners is like eggnog without the spices and bourbon, very vanilla-y and sweet ...a family favorite. And, despite having set a beautiful fall table at my house, we hauled all of this yumminess to the in-laws to feast! They made all kinds of things to add to the bounty. It was a great celebration...one that earned me a trip to Quiltville to have a sew day with Bonnie and Lisa on Saturday! Woohoo! I got lots done and had a blast!

Then the kids got sick and so did I...ugh! But we won't dwell on that. Everyone is on the mend. :)

Meanwhile,  Lisa and I made it to Sawtooth's Deck the Halls preview night and it was AMAZING! I did take my camera, but was so busy drooling over all of the wonderful offerings and filling up my basket with Christmas presents that I never got it out! I will share one of my purchases though:

Gorgeous blue and white pottery...and I'm sorry, I don't know the artist. If someone will email me I'll add it to the post. These are for me...the rest of my purchases are gifts for other people, so no peeking!! :)

And so December begins...with lots more to do! There are halls here to be decked (almost done), cookies to bake, parties to attend, presents to finish (stay tuned for some future postings on this...once the recipients have unwrapped!), and the list goes on...

I love December!!

:)

Taste of Art

Tonight I taught silk scarf dyeing at Sawtooth's Taste of Art. This class is a 2 hour make and take where participants can bring in snacks and beverages and enjoy a creative, fun night out. I'll be teaching it again on October 22 ...come join me!




Aren't these great?



This group knows how to have fun!!!

Pat's Jacket

Last week I taught the afternoon "Funky Fashion Redesign" teen classes at Sawtooth and Pat Mauck taught the morning session. Pat is an excellent weaver and seamstress (she teaches weaving there BTW!). She took my Surface Design class back in January and on the last day of classes last week she brought in this GORGEOUS jacket that she made using fabrics that she discharged. I had to show it off...(covet, covet, covet...)

Jacket by Pat Mauck - front

Jacket by Pat Mauck - back

Thanks Pat for sharing your work!! (Did I mention how GORGEOUS this jacket is?!?! My photos don't begin to do it justice)

Summer Art Honors - Part 2

In the previous post I shared the work of my first set of students in the Summer Arts Honors program at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. I also taught the second session and this group was just as much fun.

Once again we

Rust dyed...   Stamped...   Discharged...   and Gelatin plate  printed... 

                                                                                                                                    

and then the students used their fabrics to create art quilts. At the end of the session they exhibited their work in the student show. I think you'll agree...they did a great job!

This piece is by Xavier, a combination of 2 rust dyed fabrics with the roses cut and fused.

 He had never sewn anything before but looking at these stitches you would never know...

He also did some really cool discharged pieces that he wanted to keep whole

(the view is looking down into the vignette we had...the darker piece is laying on the counter and the red one is on the wall)

Next is Phoebe's piece, which she did as a two sided piece. I really like the discharged image

This is Emma's piece. I love her black and white cat stamp!

This piece is by Grace. She wanted to create the feel of water. I thought it was a timely piece, in that it speaks to me about the oil spill in the Gulf with the rust dyed bubbles, the paw print, and the discharged streaks. Not sure if that was her intention, but that's the beauty of art...each viewer finds meaning.

This is Alex's piece. I love her composition and the edge treatment she used.

It was so much fun to watch everyone's creativity at work. At the show one mom said her student started out hesitant about my class as it wasn't her first pick, but that she came home every day and talked about nothing else...it turned out to be her favorite one! Seeing people get excited about the possibilities of fiber art is what it's all about.